On October 19, 2006 at 1228 hours, members of the Rosedale Volunteer Fire Company were startled by a loud noise and felt the fire station shake. Members immediately went to the rear of the firehouse to investigate, and found a manhole cover had been blown off on Old Philadelphia Rd to the rear of the station.

Further investigation found smoke and a small amount of fire still in the manhole, and a strong odor of gasoline was present.

Engine 281 responded and several neighbors met crews on arrival and reported either smoke or gasoline fumes in their homes. Engine 281 set up command and requested a full first alarm assignment along with a Hazardous Materials (Haz Mat)  response to attempt to locate the source of the explosion, as well as to investigate the homes involved and determine any problems in those homes.

A second smaller explosion occurred at this time, and Engine 281 was notified by personnel from St. Clement’s School that they had the odor of gasoline in the school also, and were evacuating the school. Command assigned 2 engine companies to respond to the school to assist and verify that the school was evacuated and that the students and staff were safe. Engine 281 and Battalion 4 then set up a Unified Command Center to the rear of the Rosedale Fire Station with all of the responding agencies.

Investigation revealed that somehow a small amount, probably less then 5 gallons of gasoline had been introduced into the sanitary sewer system, and had found an ignition source, and when the fumes ignited, the explosions occurred.

After consultation with the Haz Mat team and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), it was decided to flush the sanitary sewer system with water to eliminate the fumes.

There were no injuries, and thanks to the extreme cooperation of many agencies, the incident was handled very quickly and efficiently. Other agencies that responded included: Baltimore County Fire Department, Baltimore County Police Dept., MDE, County Utilities, BGE, Office of Emergency Management, Baltimore County Schools, MD State Police, State Highways(CHART).